Tommy Lee’s Son ‘Genuinely Concerned’ for Dad Says Friend While Lee Source Denies Alcoholism Claim
A family friend of Tommy Lee tells PEOPLE his son Brandon is worried about his recent antics.
After the rocker spewed off a slew of controversial tweets about ex-wife Pamela Anderson on Monday, their older son Brandon, 28, allegedly got into a physical altercation with his father at his Calabasas, California, home. Then, on Wednesday, Brandon released an exclusive statement to PEOPLE in which he claimed his father is battling alcoholism and he tried to set up an intervention.
Lee, 55, denied the allegations the same day, tweeting: “I’m happier than I’ve been in my entire life. I have a few drinks here & there because I’m f—in’ retired and enjoying my life. I worked 30+ f—in’ years I deserve it. You didn’t arrange any intervention, you barely spoke to me while u were here.”
A family friend corroborates Brandon’s statement and says Tommy was once sober for five years but “definitely has a taste for partying”
“Brandon is genuinely concerned, and Tommy is in such denial,” says the friend.
An insider close to Lee calls Brandon’s allegations “deflection.”
“He has a few drinks here and there,” the Lee insider says. “But for 30 years he lived out of a duffel bag to support his family. He can have a few drinks here or there.”
However, according to the friend, an intervention was indeed planned but fell apart after their altercation.
“There was supposed to be an intervention. But there are people around him that do not think he has a problem,” says the friend. “Everyone has been concerned for over a year about Tommy Lee. Maybe it’s for the best, and maybe they are now seeing he does have a problem and the key is that he gets help.”
On Thursday, Anderson, 50, released a lengthy statement to TMZ in which she weighed in on the recent family drama.
“I pray Tommy gets the help he needs. His actions are desperate and humiliating,” Anderson said. “He is a disaster spinning out of control. … I will never talk to Tommy again before he is sober and in his right mind. … This is the Devil – This is the disease of alcoholism.”
Lee and Brandon’s argument stemmed from a series of tweets Lee posted Monday responding to Anderson’s interview on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories Saturday in which Anderson discussed physical abuse she claimed to have endured from Tommy during their relationship. In 1998, Lee was sentenced to six months in the Los Angeles County Jail for spousal battery following an assault that left Anderson with bruises and a torn fingernail. She was reportedly holding their infant son, Dylan (now 20) at the time. Tommy pled no contest to the charges.
“Think she’d find something new to discuss instead of rehashing old s— but I guess she has nothing else going on & needs attention Signed, ‘The abuser’ (who she texts every day & asks for me back),” he tweeted, referring to Anderson.
•With additional reporting by K.C. BAKER
